The Granville Town Hall is the oldest surviving of Cumberland Council’s four original municipalities.
After incorporation in 1885, early meetings of Granville Borough Council were held at the Granville School of Arts, opened the year before in Good Street (now part of the City of Parramatta Council LGA).
The Council purchased land from Mrs E. T. Lea, facing Carlton Street, as the site of the proposed Town Hall in December 1887, at a cost of £600. The first Mayor, John Nobbs MLA, laid the foundation stone on 5 September 1888.
The original town Hall comprised only of the front section of the present building, a fence that was later removed. The open space of the area made the Town Hall look prominent; many events were held there long before the current surrounding streets were planned.
Council business relocated to the new Town Hall on 10 January 1889, with the official opening ceremony held on the evening of 16 January 1889, performed by the Hon. E W O’Sullivan, Minister for Public Works, replacing Premier Sir William Lyne, who could not attend at the last moment, due to ill health.
The Town Hall contained offices for the Council staff on the ground level, with the Mayor’s Room, Council Chambers and a room for the Municipal Library Service located on the first floor. The large hall, containing stage and public gallery, attached to the rear of the original Town Hall was added just over a decade later. Other alterations were also planned, such as the extension of the façade as pictured, however these changes didn’t eventuate.
The Granville Town Hall as a place where many ceremonies and community events took place, it has witnessed many changes and reminds us past traditions. Following the merger of Granville, Dundas, Ermington and Rydalmere and Parramatta Councils in 1948, the early meetings of the expanded Parramatta City Council were held at the Granville Town Hall until the Parramatta Administration Centre opened in 1958.
The building has retained much of its character, including the Mayors of the Municipality of Granville from 1885 to 1948 and the Mayors of the City of Parramatta from 1949 to 2015.
After recent amalgamations, City of Parramatta Woodville Ward, was merged to Cumberland City Council; the Mayoral chains from the former Granville Council were transferred to Cumberland in a symbolic ceremony held the 16th of June 2018 here at Granville Town Hall.
